All Blacks overcome French

The All Blacks survived a second-half comeback to beat France 38-18 at the Stade de France in Paris.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, the All Blacks produced a two-paced opening effort to open the test component of their northern tour with a victory over France that was a lot less comfortable than it need have been.

In the end the All Blacks rather held on to prevail 38-18, five tries to two, after they had produced an irrepressible first 40 minutes to lead 31-5 at the halftime break.  Remarkably the French somehow flipped a switch in the second half to play the world champions off the park, and starve them of the possession they had used to efficiently through the first 40.

The New Zealanders had been brilliant in the opening stanza as, behind standout displays from Beauden Barrett and Rieko Ioane and a scrum wreaking havoc, they ran amok with four converted tries to take a strangehold on this opening test of their tour.

But then things unravelled after the break as the French rallied behind a special display from their jinking halfback Antoine Dupont. The New Zealanders could get nothing going themselves and they rather gifted momentum to the home side – unrecognisable from the first half – when Sonny Bill Williams made one of those madcap plays his critics feast on.

The resultant yellow card and penalty try from a just plain crazy bat-back of a crosskick saw the French belief grow, the crowd re-enter the contest and resulted in a far less uncomfortable second 40 than anyone can have reckoned on.

The New Zealanders, at least, managed to close out the contest with a well-taken second try to Waisake Naholo, but their rather muted second 40 minutes will have raised the hopes of Scotland and Wales who are to come.

The All Blacks had been back to their clinical best over the opening 40 in front of 81,000-plus expectant French fans at this superb stadium. They scored four converted tries, and punished the French mercilessly for every error and every shortcoming as they produced the response their coach would have demanded after the Brisbane no-show.

It was slick and accurate and on-point from Steve Hansen's side. Everything they weren't at Suncorp. They are desperate to finish their year on a high note in the north, and their opening statement in Paris was glistening with intent.

Hooker Dane Coles opened the scoring in the ninth minute, thundering across from a short ball from Barrett, but didn't last much longer as he hobbled off with a worrying knee injury. But that did little to halt the All Blacks' momentum through an impressive first half that silenced the big crowd.

The scrum, after an early wobble, was dominant, and the New Zealand backs threatened with almost every opportunity. Williams was carrying strongly, Ioane likewise, Barrett was rampant, and it was all the French could do to limit the damage to that single try in the opening quarter.

Then the floodgates opened. Naholo was across unmarked out wide after a monster scrum; Teddy Thomas briefly raised a flicker of hope in home fans when he finished out wide after some slick handling from Mathieu Bastareaud and Nans Ducuing; and then Ryan Crotty (off Williams' deft grubber) and Sam Cane (after Ioane's big run and slick inside ball) completed the rout to make it 31-5 at the break.

If the French were teetering at the break, they came steaming back on to solid ground early in the second spell when a pair of Anthony Belleau penalties either side of a highly contentious penalty try – off a frankly knucklehead play from Williams – saw them rattle off the first 13 points of the half to close quickly to 31-18.

Williams had 10 minutes in the sin-bin to contemplate his brainfade when he batted a Belleau crosskick dead ingoal – a play that is legal in his old code, but, sadly, not in rugby union. He was unlucky, though, to concede the penalty try when the TMO ruled Yoann Huget would have scored but for Williams' action. Dubious logic, at best.

The All Blacks did well to limit the damage to 10 points in their second five's absence, especially with French halfback Dupont by this stage running amok, and they at least finished the contest on a positive note with the final try of the night to put the icing on an 11th straight victory over the French.

Good enough. But not nearly as good as it looked at halftime.

AT A GLANCE

All Blacks 38 (Dane Coles, Waisake Naholo 2, Ryan Crotty, Sam Cane tries; Beauden Barrett pen, 5 cons), France 18 (Teddy Thomas try; penalty try; Anthony Belleau 2 pen). HT: 31-5.

 

 

Photo by: BENOIT TESSIER/REUTERS (Caption: Dane Coles scores the All Blacks' opening try in their 38-18 Armistice Day test victory in Paris)